In his first move as West Australian premier, Mark McGowan has asked Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to remove Perth from the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme.
I'm putting WA jobs first. I've written to the Prime Minister requesting that Perth be removed from the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme. pic.twitter.com/8VEktrBHcN
— Mark McGowan (@MarkMcGowanMP) March 17, 2017
He added a personal touch to his correspondence with the Prime Minister, crossing out the official title and writing 'Malcolm' to put them on a first name basis.
The migration scheme has classed Perth as a regional centre since 2011, making it easier for people from overseas to obtain a work visa for WA.
Related Content
Mr McGowan told reporters on Friday he was honouring his commitment to keep jobs in the state and that he would also review the skilled migration list which fast-tracks overseas workers into WA.
Labor's election campaign focused heavily on diversifying the WA economy and promised to deliver more local jobs.
And it took less than a handful of hours for Mr McGowan to take action, having been sworn in as the state's 30th premier at Government House on Friday morning.
Mr McGowan led Labor to a landslide election win over Colin Barnett's Liberal government last weekend, claiming 41 seats in the 59-seat parliament.
- AAP